Woven polyester carpet backing and tufted carpet incorporating the same



May 2, 1967 v J. DIONNE 3,317,366

WOVEN POLYESTEKCARPET BACKING AND TUFTED CARPET INCORPORATING THE SAMEFiled May 18, 1962 WAN/Hy J. Dame IN VENTOR H IS ATTORNEY United StatesPatent WOVEN POLYESTER CARPET BACKING AND TUFTED CARPET INCORPORATINGTHE SAME Vianney J. Dionne, Radburn-Fairlawn, N.J., assignor t0 BeaunitCorporation, a corporation of New York Filed May 18, 1962, Ser. No.195,758 8 Claims. (Cl. 161-66) This invention relates to textile fabricsand it is especially concerned with woven fabrics which are suitable foruse as primary backing fabrics for tufted carpets.

Heretofore, the principal primary fabric for tufted carpets has beenwoven jute which is inexpensive and adds body thereto. Several problemsarise when such backing material is tufted to form a carpet. Jute fiberis coarse, non-uniform in cross section, and relatively inflexible. Thustufting needles which strike the jute yarn are frequently deflected.Needle deflection frequently results in damage to the needle andirregularities in the surface of the pile. In addition, jute is subjectto shrinkage through exposure to moisture during processing, viz.,washing and dyeing, and after being laid. It is frequently necessary tostretch jute backed carpets after they have. been in use'in order torestore their original dimensions. This is especially a problem withwall-to-wall installation where slight shrinkage is unsightly.

Furthermore, jute backing does not accept the dyes normally used indyeing the carpet pile. As a result, there are noticeable differences inshade between the pile and the backing material. Since the backingmaterial is somewhat visible through the pile, a noticeable differencein shade between the backing fabric and the pile detracts from theappearance of the carpet. This noticeable appearance of the backingthrough the pile is known as grinning in the trade.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a backing fabricfor tufted carpets which is substantially dimensionally stable tomoisture and heat.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tufted carpetbacking fabric which substantially reduces needle deflections.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tufted carpetprimary fabric which can be easily dyed to substantially the same shadeas the pile of the carpet in order to prevent grinning thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description and drawing.

Unexpectedly, I have found that the aforesaid objects can be attained byusing as tufted carpet backing a woven fabric comprised of substantiallyflat polyester monofila ments in the warp and polyester multifilamentyarn in the weft, as illustrated in the appended drawing in which (a)depicts the warp monofilament and (b) depicts the Weft yarn of thefabric.

The use of smooth, slippery polyester monofilaments in the warpvirtually eliminates needle deflection since they are able to shifteasily with little resistance when the needle strikes near the edge; or,if struck in the center, a monofilament is easily pierced withoutdeflection of the needle. By virtue of its greater strength, fewerstrands of the polyester monofilament are required to cover the samearea without sacrifice of strength. For instance, I have found thatabout ten strands of polyester monofilament will replace twenty-fourstrands of jute.

The polyester backing fabric and the pile may be dyed to substantiallythe same shade in a single or double bath dyeing operation, depending onthe fiber or fibers used in the .pile. In addition, spun dyed polyesterfibers and monofilaments of the desired shade may be used.

3,3 17,366 Patented May 2, 1967 ice Thermal stability is necessary sincea rubber latex or other heat-vulcanizable adhesive must be applied tothe back surface of the primary fabric after tufting in order to lockthe tufts in place. Polyamide Iand polyolefin fibers, for example,shrink at the curing (vulcanizing) temperature of the rubber laticeswhich are generally used in the carpet trade (about 260 F. or more).Although the so-called cold curing latices which cure at much lowertemperatures could be used, they are more expensive and the curing timeis too long for economical operation. The curing period for a givenlatex is a timetemperature relationship, thus it is preferable to curefor a shorter period of time at a high temperature. 7

The polyesters land co-polyester's used in practicing the inventioncomprise fiber forming polycondensation products of one or more aromaticdicarboxylic acids with one or more aliphatic, alicyclic or aromaticglycols hav- .ing melting points about 260 F. Suitable polyesters whichmay be used in practicing the invention are the 'polyalkyleneterephthalates produced in accordance with US. Patent No. 2,465,319 toWhinfield et al. of Mar. 22, 1949. These polymeric linear terephthalicesters are composed of recurring structural units of the formula:

[-0 (CH2) .ooc-Oco-l and ethylene isophthalate are distributed at randomalong the polymer chain, as disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,965,613 toMillone et al. of Dec. 20, 1960 may be applied to the invention.

Another co-polyester which may be used in practicing the invention is ablend of 30/70 cis-trans poly (1,4-cyclohexylenedimethyleneterephthalate) which is sold by Eastman Kodak Co. under the trademarkKodel.

The polyester yarns and monofilaments are spun, drawn and heat set bythe conventional processes disclosed in the prior art.

The size of the monofilaments used in the warp of the fabric may bevaried according to the pile which is to be applied. Likewise,construction of the weft yarn as to denier, twist, and ply and cableconstruction may be varied. Although continuous multifil-ament polyesteryarn may be used in the weft, a less slippery spun polyester yarn ispreferred in order to better maintain the shape of the fabric before andduring tufting. The weft yarn preferably may be formed by plyingtogether several polyester strands. The optimum size and construction ofthe mono filaments and Weft yarns may be determined readily by simpleexperimentation. Obviously, the looseness of the weave may be variedaccording to the gauge of the tuft.

The following example is given by way of illustration without limitationas to the scope of the invention.

A backing fabric was woven comprised of 3 x 60 mm. polyethyleneterephthal-ate polyester monofilaments in the warp and weft yarnsconsisting of three plies of conventionally spun polyester yarn having acotton count of 10 in the single plies, and twists of 11 turns per inchZ in the singles and 9 /2 turns per inch S in the plied yarn. Thepolyester of the weft yarn was a copolyester of /15 polyethyleneterephthalate and isophth-alate units distributed at random along thepolymer chain. The backing fabric was tufted with 1 /2 run 8 gauge woolpile to form a carpet. Rubber latex was applied to the back of thecarpet, and it was cured at 260 F. The resulting carpet wassubstantially stable to aqueous and thermal treatment.

, It will be understood that the term spun" yarn includes yarn producedfrom fibers by a combination of drawing or drafting and twisting appliedto prepared fiber masses such as rovings, or the formation of a yarnfrom filaments by the combination of cutting or breaking together withdrafting and twisting. In carrying out the present invention it is morepractical to use spun polyester yarn produced by the conventional methodof spinning, since spun yarn produced by the direct spinning methodresults in yarn which is subject to excessive shrinkage. However, whendirect spun yarn is subjected to subsequent heat stabilization, it mayalso be used in the carpet backing.

The term yarn is understood to include continuous strands of textilefibers or filaments in a form suitable for weaving which may include anumber of fibers twisted together, a number of filaments laid togetherwithout twist, or a number of filaments laid together with more or lesstwist.

Modifications of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart, and it is intended to cover all modifications and variations comingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tufted carpet consisting of a woven backing fabric having on oneside a yarn pile tufted thereto and on the other side a coating ofheat-cured latex, wherein the woven backing fabric is substantiallydimensionally stable to moisture and to temperatures up to 260 F. andconsists of a warp of substantially flat polyester monofilaments and afilling of multi-fiber polyester yarns, said polyesters being members ofthe group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, a random copolymerof ethylene terephthalate and ethylene isophthalate, andpoly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate).

2. The tufted carpet of claim 1 wherein at least one of the polyestersis polyethylene terephthalate.

3. The tufted carpet of claim 1 wherein at least one of the polyestersis a random copolymer of ethylene terephthalate and ethyleneisophthalate.

4. The tufted carpet of claim 1 wherein at least one of the polyestersis poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate).

5. A'woven fabric backing for tufted carpets substantially dimensionallystable to moisture and to temperatures up to 260 F., said woven fabricconsisting of a warp of substantially fiat, saturated aromatic polyestermonofilaments and a filling of multi-fiber saturated aromatic polyesteryarns.

6. The woven fabric of claim 5 wherein at least one of the saturatedaromatic polyesters is polyethylene terephthalate.

7. The woven fabric of claim 5 wherein at least one of the saturatedaromatic polyesters is a random copolymer of ethylene terephthalate andethylene isophthalate.

8. The woven fabric of claim 5 wherein at least one of the saturatedaromatic polyesters is a poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethyleneterephthalate) References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTSMORRIS SUSSMAN, Examiners.

H. G. GARNER, R. H. CRISS, Assistant Examiners.

1. A TUFTED CARPET CONSISTING OF A WOVEN BACKING FABRIC HAVING ON ONESIDE A YARN PILE TUFTED THERETO AND ON THE OTHER SIDE A COATING OFHEAT-CURED LATEX, WHEREIN THE WOVEN BACKING FABRIC IS SUBSTANTIALLYDIMENSIONALLY STABLE TO MOISTURE AND TO TEMPERATURES UP TO 260* F. ANDCONSISTS OF A WARP OF SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT POLYESTER MONOFILAMENTS AND AFILLING OF MULTI-FIBER POLYESTER YARNS, SAID POLYESTERS BEING MEMBERS OFTHE GROUP CNSISTING OF OLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE, A RANDOM COPOLYMER OFETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE AND ETHYLENE ISOPHTHALATE, AND POLY(1,4-CYCLOHEXYLENEDIMETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE).